“Our spirits would stretch out the way the light of the sun spreads through the sky. Our breaths came out, through our lungs, throats, soles, skin; we exhaled from our tingling fingertips. We breathed; we lived.”
~Tan Twan Eng, The Gift of Rain

I began this morning staring out at Lake Superior. As I quietly watched the sun’s light come up on this powerful and beautiful body of water, I was struck with the ways in which the wind moved upon the water creating patterns that moved both toward the shore and away. The dancing of this unseen force moved this mighty lake in ways it has no power over. Under the water a similar force united with the force above to create the waves that dashed against the unmoving rocks. I could hear the sound of the crashing as it formed a rhythm not unlike the one beating in my own chest, rising with my breath.

That is when I realized I had a short chant we have often used in worship echoing in my head. “The wind blows where it will, you know not where it’s coming from or where it’s going to.” This chant written by Trisha Watts carries a tune that resembles the flowing in and out of a wave. I allowed the music that came from my unconscious to flow over me, becoming a morning prayer.

The words of this chant, of course, come from the scriptures. It is an attempt to describe how the Spirit moves in and out of our lives and the life of all Creation. This breathing, this unseen yet powerful force, is like our breath. It is that which brings life. Even a life we have very little control over. Even a life that can surprise and befuddle us. Even a life that can become chaos and be filled with tumultuous questions.

Many cultures honor what we refer to as the four elements: earth, water, fire, air. The first three are visible to us, in some ways, easy to grasp. But air…..breath, spirit…can only be known by its effect. As I continue to look out the window at this enormous body of water, I see the trees and water animated by the unseen force of wind. Just a few miles north, the fires that are moving through the beloved forests of the Boundary Waters, are fueled by the air that fans the flames. Flames that will not only destroy but will also eventually bring new life to the earth through seeds that are scattered and soil that is renewed.

What to make of all this? For me, it is that unseen power of Spirit that is always present. In the Hebrew scriptures the word ‘ruach’ is one and the same for Spirit, breath, wind and air. It is the same word used to describe the Holy’s moving across the initial waters bringing life, in all the forms known to us, out of the teeming waters of chaos. Unseen yet life producing.

An encounter with the waters of Lake Superior never ceases to restore confidence in me. Its sheer presence reminds me of the largesse of the world of which I am only a tiny part. Somehow this makes any problem or distress I may be experiencing seem manageable. It is, in that sense, a grounding presence, I guess. And the wind that moves, always moves, over its surface and under its waves grounds me in the reassurance of the Spirit’s presence moving in my life. In ways I understand and that are visible. In ways that are unseen and surprising.

And yet always in ways that lead to life……..all the way to our tingling fingertips.